INDIANAPOLIS — “Been there. Done That.” That’s the collective response the Colts have to repeated questions about how they plan to deal with the Jets’ ground-and-pound running game in Sunday’s AFC Championship.
The Jets won’t be the first team to venture to Lucas Oil Stadium thinking they’re going to run the ball down the Colts’ throat. As a matter of fact, the Ravens had similar ideas before leaving a 20-3 loser in their AFC divisional playoff game. So it should be no surprise the Colts don’t sound nervous about facing the Jets’ No.1-ranked rushing offense.
“They’ve been challenged week-in and week-out,” Colts head coach Jim Caldwell said yesterday of his defense. “I don’t think there is anybody that has come in here, particularly teams that run the ball, that don’t present a great challenge for you. Obviously, the Jets, who can run the ball as well as anybody, will certainly test you to see what kind of endurance you have, what kind of staying power that you have, can you control the line of scrimmage and that is a real challenge for us.”
It’s a challenge they embrace. The Colts defense always is overshadowed by its offense, led by quarterback Peyton Manning. But after holding the Ravens to 87 rushing yards last week, the Colts defense is sure to gain more respect and recognition if it can shut down the Jets.
“I think the biggest thing is we understand it’s going to be a physical game,” said defensive end Dwight Freeney. “They do what they do. They run the ball very well. Everybody who plays against them knows they are going to run the ball and they still run. It’s going to be important that we stop that, and hopefully we can get into a one-dimensional game.”
The Colts allowed 126.5 rushing yards per game during the regular season. The Jets gained 202 yards on the ground in their 29-15 win here in Week 16, when Indianapolis pulled many of its starters with a 15-10 lead in the third quarter. In fact, if you take away the final two games of the season, when the Colts didn’t play their starters throughout, they allowed just 112.4 rushing per game.
The Colts’ key to containing the Jets running game will be the play of the defensive tackles, a rotation that consists of Antonio Johnson, Dan Muir and Eric Foster. Johnson (6-foot-3, 310 pounds) and Muir (6-2, 312) bring the size, while Foster, a former Rutgers star, brings quickness at 6-2, 265.
“Dan really kind of came out of nowhere,” Caldwell said. “I think he had some of the best games of the defensive interior linemen that we’ve had around here in a long time. He worked at it. He committed himself to getting better. He changed his body and improved his endurance and I think Antonio went about it the exact same way.”
The Colts are aware the Jets try to wear down a defense by constantly rushing the ball, then looking to break a long gain late in the game as they did against the Chargers last week when Shonn Greene scored on a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter of their 17-14 win. The Jets ran the ball 39 times for 169 yards in that game, numbers Caldwell would like to limit.
“I’m not certain there is a particular number, but the better you play, the less time you spend on the field,” he said. “That’s our goal. Our goal is to play well and make certain we get off the field on third down.”
The Ravens said they were surprised by the team speed of the Colts, who play a more aggressive defense under Caldwell. How that speed matches up against the strength of the Jets offensive line could determine how successful the Jets are at controlling the tempo of the game.
“We understand we have to get our big pads on because we understand they are going to be running the ball pretty heavy,” Freeney said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for our front four to really go out there and establish the line of scrimmage.”
Key play: Slant 24 Cutback:
Each day this week, The Post will give you a glimpse inside the Jets’ playbook, as NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger diagrams key plays for this weekend’s AFC Championship game vs. the Colts.
The Jets offense began to click when the coaches simplified things for Mark Sanchez. They have reduced the number of reads to take the pressure off him. The Four Wide Double Slant is a play they used against Cincinnati that could be effective again this week against the Colts.
Sanchez (6) has a very safe throw off a three-step drop. David Clowney (87) runs an inside slant to draw both inside linebackers. The safety drops to protect against the deep throw, leaving Jerricho Cotchery (89) with one-on-one coverage by a cornerback.
For Sanchez it’s just point and shoot, like operating a camera. No pressure. He hits Cotchery about 6 yards from the line of scrimmage and lets the receiver do the rest.
george.willis@nypost.com